Detectives are launching a fresh bid to catch a murderer who wrote 'Ripper' on the wall after raping and strangling his victim more than 40 years ago.

Anti-nuclear activist Amala Ruth De Vere Whelan, 22, was garroted with a stocking in her living room after being raped and beaten.

The killer, who has never been found, then sprayed the word 'Ripper' onto the wall using detergent from a washing up bottle.

The 1972 case is now one of Britain's most chilling unsolved murders - but police have not given up hope of catching her killer.

Amala's body went undiscovered for several days.

Detectives said there was no sign of forced entry to the flat in Randolph Avenue, Maida Vale, west London - suggesting she knew her killer or let him into the property where she had lived for just three weeks.

A fresh appeal has been launched for information about the rape and murder (Image: Metropolitan Police)

Read More

No suspect has ever been linked to the murder, despite a full forensic examination at the time.

Police working on the case say they are particularly interested in speaking to Ms Whelan's friends and relatives, one of whom is a sister who would now be aged around 56 years old.

The victim had previously worked and stayed at The Bar Lotus on Regent's Park Road in Camden.

Detective Inspector Susan Stansfield, from the Met's special casework investigation team, said: "More than 44 years have now passed since Amala's death but I am convinced that someone, somewhere, knows the circumstances of her brutal murder.

"It was a long time ago but I'm sure there are people in the local area who remember Amala's murder.

"Did you live in the vicinity of Randolph Avenue in the early 1970s? Did you see or hear anything suspicious on November 12, 1972?"

Randolph Avenue, in Maida Vale, where the victim lived when she was killed (Image: Google)

Read More

She added: "Amala suffered a brutal death and the identity of the suspect has remained a mystery.

"She was a very popular and attractive female who had a wide social network of friends. She was an active member of the CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) party and had numerous friends in the art world.

"If you have any information, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, please come forward.

"Maybe you didn't contact police at the time as you were too scared, but with the passage of time now feel able to tell us what you know in confidence."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 020 7230 4294 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.